The Reason
by lovetaker101
Summary: Maybe I shouldn't have been friends with Sam when I knew how much it hurt Jackie, but I also knew it was the only way to save her...please r&r!


_**The Reason**_

_by: lovetaker101_

Hey readers! This is just a random one-shot idea that popped into my head. POV switches around a little, hope it's not too confusing. Hope you like it. PLEASE review!!!

**Disclaimer**: We all know I don't own anything except for 6 pairs of sweats and 500 CDs. So don't sue. Because I don't have much to give.

x

Jackie slowly walked into Donna's house. The kitchen was so familiar. She could remember all of the many talks the two of them had had at that table. This house had been her home for such a long time, and still felt more like home than the small apartment she shared with her new boyfriend. Jackie smiled at the thought of Fez. He was such an amazing guy. He loved her the way she deserved to be loved after all of the heartbreak she had endured.

_Steven._

Jackie shook her head, trying to get rid of the thought. She was done with him. He couldn't treat her the way he had for the past year and expect her to be okay with it. Nothing that Michael had done, or even her parents had done could compare to how much Steven Hyde had hurt her. None of them had left her feeling so much she felt like she was empty. None of them had exhausted her so mentally and emotionally. And none of them made her hate so much.

Jackie sighed and walked through the living room. She had always found the room so welcoming until this past year. Now it was just cold and drained, like she was.

_No. Not me. Not anymore._

She quickly made her way through the house, stopping at the end of a hallway in front of a very familiar door. She rested her hand on the doorknob hesitantly, trying to gather the courage to do what she had to do. Jackie took a deep breath and opened the door to the one person she had once thought would never hurt her.

Donna looked up from the bed. "Hey, Jackie," she said. "What's up?" The blonde set her book down and watched her best friend fidget nervously by the desk. Jackie forced a smile.

"Nothing, really. Just wanted to talk to you, you know, about…some stuff. Stuff that happened…" she trailed off, not sure of what to say. Donna seemed confused.

"Uh…okay, sure. What stuff do you want to talk about?"

Jackie looked around, stalling. "Um…I, uh…well it's just…"

Donna smiled, amused. "What's this? Jackie Burkhart, _speechless_? Oh my god! Someone get a camera!" she cried in mock amazement. Jackie grinned at the display.

_Same old Donna. In some ways._

The younger girl sat down at the foot of the bed and stared at her hands, folded in her lap. She looked up when Donna shoved her playfully. "Seriously, Jackie. What's wrong?"

Jackie closed her eyes, wondering if she really wanted to do this. But images of the past year, the worst year of Jackie's life, flowed through her mind, making a slideshow across her eyelids. Donna, inviting Jackie over for 'girls night' with Sam, Donna driving Sam's car, Donna inviting Sam with them wherever they went, Donna laughing with Sam, Donna replacing Jackie with that brainless blonde stripper. She opened her eyes.

"You know me better than anyone else. You have been there for me whenever I needed you. When I didn't have anyone, you would be right next to me, ready to help me through whatever I was going through. And I know I never said thank you, but I want you to know I am so grateful for that." Jackie watched Donna's expression change from light-hearted cheerfulness to confusion.

"Jackie, what the hell are you talking about?" she asked, bewildered.

Jackie ignored her question and kept ranting. "I used to think Steven was the only one who really knew me, but he didn't even know how much I loved him when I made it the most obvious thing in the world. He was always jumping to conclusions, ready to dump me because I 'wasn't over Michael' or because I 'wanted too much from him.' He had no idea that he was my entire world, that I loved him so much it hurt. But I think you knew, Donna." She laughed softly. "You were always the smart one of the group."

"Okay, Jackie, I know all of this. What is this about?" Donna asked again, trying to figure out why her friend was talking like this.

Jackie fought to hold back her tears. "If you knew all of this, why did you let him stay with Sam? Why didn't you tell him to make her leave, or tell him how much he meant to me? Why did you just accept Sam so easily when it took you so long to consider me your friend? You _knew_ how much it hurt me to see them together, you _saw_ how much I cried. How could you be aware of all of this and not know how much it hurt to see _you _with her?" By now, Jackie couldn't control herself anymore and she let the tears spill out of her eyes. "I know you were depressed because of Eric leaving, and you were confused about Randy, but I thought you would be able to see what you were doing to me. I know Steven's your friend and I know you want him to be happy, but why didn't you want us to be happy together?" Donna stared in shock at the woman that was beginning to sob on her bed. Without thinking she wrapped her arms around the shaking figure and held her close, trying to sooth her. A million thoughts were racing through her head. But the brunette that usually collapsed into all comfort was stiff. She pushed Donna away. "Get the hell off me, Donna! Do you have any idea how much it hurts knowing you kept me from him? Didn't you realize how much it was killing me seeing him with Sam? If you had told him to make her leave, he would have listened to you, and it would have taken work, but in the end we could have ended up together!"

"Exactly!" Donna shouted, finally unable to take Jackie's accusations. "He would have listened to me, you would have gone running back to him, and he would have broken your heart again. Don't you get it Jackie? I was trying to protect you from him! He's a soul-less bastard for what he did to you and there was no way in hell I was gonna let him have your forgiveness with the way he's thrown it all away before." Donna stood up and began pacing. "I was there for every one of your break-ups, with both of your idiotic boyfriends. And the way you reacted to Hyde was absolutely mind-blowing. I'd never seen you that affected by anything before. And he didn't even care! You were so completely broken by him and he just sat around with stupid Fez and stupid Kelso and my stupid boyfriend every time you two broke up. You have no idea how much that pissed me off. But he seemed to make you so happy when you were with him that I ignored it. Maybe if I hadn't, maybe if I'd talked to either one of you about it you guys could still be together. But I didn't and that's my own fault. I can't change it. But when I found out he had gotten married in Las Vegas I, I," Donna fumbled with her words and made wild hand gestures to emphasize whatever she was getting at. Jackie sat on the bed motionless, the tears she had cried drying on her cheeks. "I hated him," Donna said simply, her arms finally falling limply by her sides. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "If he could do something like that so easily, then how is it possible that he ever cared about you? I wanted to make sure you wouldn't go back to him because I know you deserve better. That's why I let him stay with her."

Finally finished with her tirade, Donna sat down at her desk. The silence pounded in the girls' ears for several minutes, penetrating the whole room. Finally, the blonde spoke softly.

"Jackie, I'm so sorry. You probably hate me."

"No. I don't hate you," Jackie said. "Well, maybe a little." She smiled sadly and glanced up. "I'm sorry too. I didn't really consider that you might have a reason for all of this. I just sort of assumed you were against me." She paused before adding, almost whispering, "Like everyone else." Donna walked over to the bed and sat down next to Jackie. She tentatively put her arm around her friend's shoulders, relieved when Jackie leaned into her. With her eyes closed she said, "You had no right to do that, though. He might have changed." Donna sighed.

"I know, but I didn't really want to take the chance. Now I feel kind of bad about it, for thinking he would just hurt you again. You were the only one who ever _really_ believed he could be more than a drunken loser. I guess, deep down, we all expected him to fail even though none of us wanted to admit it. No one ever gave him a chance."

"He'll be more than that. I still believe in him," Jackie said, knowing that Donna would think she was crazy.

The two women stood up and smiled at each other.

"So, friends?" Jackie asked.

"Till death," Donna replied. A grin spread across her face. "So…how's it going with Fez?" Jackie rolled her eyes, but was unable to contain her own smile. Maybe now, she could finally be happy.

x

Hyde stood silently outside of Donna's door. His head was still spinning from the conversation he had just overheard. Their fight had dissolved into incessant girl talk that he heard without listening, but he was still thinking about the words that had been said about him. About what he had done to the only person he would ever love.

_Jacks._

He took deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. If only he had just told her he loved her when she asked him if he had anything to say to her before she left! Have a good trip? Where the hell had that come from, anyway? But he knew that wasn't the only opportunity he'd had to keep Jackie with him. She had given him her entire life, willing to give up her whole future for him, and in return, she got 'I don't know,' even when he did. And right now, all he wanted to do was to take her into his arms and kiss her until she knew that he had always known. But it was too late. He was too late. She was happy with his best friend, happier than she would ever be with him. And part of him knew, the unselfish and loving part (however small it was), that this was how it should be. She deserved someone like Fez, someone who would worship her. It would be torture for him to watch them together, knowing how close he had been to having that, but hey. He deserved some punishment. He deserved some pain. So with all of the self control he could muster, Hyde turned away from his one, his only one, and let her go.

_Maybe someday I'll tell her how sorry I am. _

But he knew he never would.

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I wrote this because I absolutely hated Donna in the eighth season and I wanted her to have a reason for the way she acted. I realize you all probably hate me for the ending, but I feel like that's the only way it could be. I wouldn't want Jackie to forgive him for everything he did to her. So pretty please review even if you did hate it!!!


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